Giant Talon 2

For the trip, I'll be riding a Giant Talon 2. I wanted to get a Giant Fathom for the trip (the geometry was more endurance suited) but it just wasn't in the budget. I'm pretty impressed with this bike, though, for being sub $1,000.

Suntour XCM 100mm Front Fork

Giant Connect Trail Handlebar

Shimano Acera Shifters

Shimano Alivio and Deore Shadow Derailleurs

Shimano M315 Disc Brakes

KMC x11 Chain

Prowheel RAID 22/36 Crankset

Maxxis Ikon 29" 2.2 Tubeless Tires

Race Face Chester Flat Pedals

Revelate Terrapin Seat Bag

The Terrapin bag is awesome. I like how it's actually a dry bag that slides into the seat pack. The other nice feature is the air valve that's built into the side so you can stuff your gear in, cinch it down tight with the air being let out, then seal it up. I put my sleeping materials inside this bag.

Mountain Hardwear HyperLamina Flame 20 Degree Bag

AlpKit Hunka Bivy

Tyvek Ground Sheet (not pictured)

Revelate Ranger Frame Bag

The size medium Ranger bag fit my bike great, and there's more than enough room in it for my gear. So much of a surprising amount that I had to stop myself from trying to fill it to the brim with unnecessary items to save weight. I tried to put my heavier and lesser used items in this bag (and more focused towards the bottom) for better weight distribution on the bike. Since we have a couple guys riding, I didn't have to bring along my bike pump, which usually goes in here too. Half of the gear in here is camera and electronics stuff since I'm making a short film of the trip. If I were to come back to the trail in the future to race the route, I could probably get rid of half the things in here for a lighter weight setup. Camera gear is heavy!

The Sweetroll bag is another great addition to the system. I roll one side up and shove all of my clothes in it, then roll up the open end. I didn't want a ton of weight on the handlebars that would interfere with steering and make the front end heavier to lift for hike-a-bike (HAB) sections, so I elected to put my garments here. Not rocket science for this setup, just the bare minimum that I could get away with for clothes without sacrificing some warmth for the northern sections. All the clothes added up only weigh a few pounds.

North Face Thermoball Down Jacket

Black Diamond Polartec Pullover

Extra Performance Bikes Jersey

Extra Pearl Izumi Riding Shorts

Nike Pro Combat Thermal Tights

Nike Fleece Running Gloves

Mechanix Wear Heavy Duty Gloves

Clean Pair of Socks to Sleep In

REI Polartec Thermal Head Wrap

Hot Sockee Thermal Toe Warmers

Pearl Izumi Sun Sleeves

Carhart Beanie (not pictured)

ExOfficio Underwear to Sleep In (not pictured)

Revelate Sweetroll Handlebar Bag

The Jerry Can also has a surprising amount of space in it given its tiny profile. Housed opposite the Terrapin under my seat, it's carrying tools and small items only.

Orange Seal Tubeless Sealant w/ Applicator

White Lightning Chain Lube

Chain Rag (not pictured)

Park Tool (phillips head, flathead, different allen wrench sizes)

Valve Core Remover

Chamois Butt'r (gotta keep the booty lubed and happy after hours of rubbing)

Revelate Jerry Can

For the first 300ish miles of our journey, I'll be rocking the Osprey Stratos 26 Liter backpack (bonus points for the REI Co-Op with the National Parks Foundation!). The reason for this is I will be mounting my bike to my backpack to cross the Grand Canyon, as bikes are not allowed to be ridden in the canyon. This pack is great for its size and has an internal wire frame, Osprey's air escape backing, and thicker shoulder and hip straps for comfort. Mostly everything in here is just camera gear, and I can throw extra food in here too. Once we get down to Payson, I'll be swapping this backpack out for my Osprey Escapist 18L bag, a more lightweight backpack.

Cheap Rain Poncho (forecast is looking good so I'm not packing a full rain jacket - not pictured)

EVO Shift iPhone Gimbal (not pictured)

10-18mm & 50mm Canon Lenses inside the Ape Case

Wallet (not pictured)

2 Liter Osprey Water Bladder (inside pack, reserve bladder if needed)

Osprey Stratos 26L

This is what will be on my body. I'll be swapping out my riding jersey and shorts every other day to cut down on the stank and grime as much as possible. Owayo hooked us up with a great cycling jersey that I designed myself. If you're looking for some custom jerseys, definitely check them out!

Riding Clothes & Gear

Other Items and Gear

The fork mounts are made by SKS Germany. Super lightweight and attach with velcro and surprisingly stay in place very well (rubber contact points aid in the no-slip grip). Running your standard water bottles in these cages. The bag on the frame is a Bedrock Honaker Nalgene bag, and that's where I'm keeping my HydroBlu water bottle with integrated filter for those times when we need clean water from the trailside cattle tanks, streams, etc. Between the two water bladders and four bottles, I have a max capacity of 228 oz (or almost 7 liters). I hope to never have to max out, as that's a ton of water weight!

Nebo handlebar bike light from Amazon. My main goal was to find a bike light that was bright enough and ran long enough at a budget price. This light ended up being $32 and lasts for about 9 hours on the highest setting powered by 3 AA batteries. I can easily pick up batteries for this in any town we pass through. Only thing I'm worried about is it getting ejected from its clip in base. Time will tell!

This is the Revelate Gas Tank mounted on the top tube. The only thing that's getting stuffed in here is food (energy bars, chews, and candy bars). It has a large opening and there are internal dividers if you want to make two compartments inside of it to separate your items.

Revelate Feed Bag. This bag is awesome. They designed it to be used with one hand. Two pull strings/tabs open and close the drawstring tight around whatever you choose to put in it - in my case - another water bottle. The bag is insulated, and there is also a drainage hole in the bottom in the off chance of a leak. They added three mesh pockets on the outside that can hold wrappers, and the main one on the front holds my phone pretty snug.

This here is the Bedrock Bags Tapeats handlebar bag. A multipurpose rectangular bag that can be used for items such as electronics, food, water bottle, etc. I'm using it to hold my Canon M3 mirrorless camera and some bubble wrap in the bottom to assist in shock absorption for the camera. It is also designed for easy one handed use.

We have a Garmin eTrex 20 loaded up with the AZTR .gpx files for navigation. Seth will have this mounted on his handlebars and will be leading our group since he is the strongest rider. Slightly clunky to use, but we will need it for a good portion of the trip to make sure we're on route. I also have offline Google Maps .gpx file saved on my phone + the Guthooks AZT app with all of the water sources and points of interest saved for reference.